Laws of Pandora
by Hacked-Spell
Summary: Jesse-Hope "Jo" Garrison has been navigating the pitfalls of Hell's-gate since she arrived. Everything seems to go wrong when she gets dragged back to home tree along with their Jake and forced to face the one person she never hoped to see again. Injured and forced into a hostage situation, Jo needs to relearn the laws of Pandora before it's to late to save those she loves.
1. Chapter 1

So this is my first time publishing anything on here, please leave me some comments!

Chapter 1

There were very few things that could hold Jo's attention. Mainly, people; people tended to bore her the most. She got particularly bored whenever Parker of Quartich sent grunts into the laboratory. But watching Grace scare the poor rookies that she had been sent? That had to be the highlight of her day.

She knew Grace was going to be in a bad mood when they came out of link, she always was. But given the fact they had lost specimens because their gunner- now former- had gotten spooked by a wondering Arachnoid, Grace was practically spiting fire. Jo had known fully well that the man couldn't handle a peaceful mission, Trudy knew it too, but no one had listened. The bastard was lucky she had gotten to him before Grace.

It had been just plain bad luck that these two had arrived just in time to see Grace on a war-path. Jo glanced over at Max, who was silently motioning for her to interfere. Jo scoffed, no way in hell was she getting involved in this.

The older scientist pointed at her again, and slashed a hand over his throat before glaring. _Why does it always have to be me?_ She thought bitterly. She pushed herself away from the relative safety of the link bed and marched over to Grace and her targets.

"First, that uppity ranger, then that incompetent gunner and now this." She snarled.

"Wow Doc, really feeling the love over here," she said sarcastically. Grace turned on her immediately, almost forgetting her initial argument.

"Not helping, Jo" she snarled. "they are pissing on us without even having the decency to call it rain!" she almost yelled. Jo sighed. It was very rare when Grace got into this kind of fit. Anger sure, but irrational rage? That only seemed to happen when that weasel who ran the base was involved. Which made what she was about to do that much easier.

"Then go yell at Parker. He's the one that shipped them up here." She pointed off towards the door, looking like a mom talking to a toddler. Grace was almost two decades older, but the scientists were just as bad as Parker when they didn't get their way.

Grace turned beat red before stomping off in the direction of the main office. Scientists, so predictable.

"You had to make it worse…" Max sighed.

"not like it was getting better anytime soon." She shrugged and straightened her jacket. She turned her attention back towards the two men.

"don't take it personally." They would learn to avoid the Doc after link in time, everyone else in this lab sure did. There was a reason that the lab was strangely devoid of life whenever Doc had the morning shift.

"and this lovely lady, "she snorted at that, "is Jesse-Hope Garrison, our resident ranger." She shot Max a dirty look as he finished speaking. She hated whenever he used her full name; which was why he insisted on using it.

"It's just Jo, call me anything else and I won't run interference for the red menace next time," she threatened. She shook Sully's hand and gave him a once over.

"You must be the marine. I'll be showing you the ropes around the lab,"

"Jake Sully, it's nice to meet you." She nodded-even wheelchair bound-she could see muscle defined on Jake's arms and chest. He had obviously continued training after getting out. Something she could respect.

"I'm Norm, Norm Spellmen." The lankier of the two said.

"I know, Doc has been bemoaning the fact there aren't any competent assistants around here. I've been counting down the seconds till you got here." Which was true, having some new blood on the base was always welcome.

"I have some reports I have to finish, so I'll leave you in Max's hands for now."

* * *

Jo always liked the time of day when no one was in the gym. At the same time every day, the underground gym was blissfully empty. The only sounds being her taped up fists striking against the training bag. She had come in here a couple hours after dinner, she didn't like training with others. Pandoran gravity was slightly lighter than earths, even if she wasn't considered a soldier while here, she needed to be ready.

She heard the lift doors pen and ignored them. Whoever it was would hopefully go away soon-

"Jess"

-or not. She stopped her attacks and started tearing the tape off her hands, she didn't want to talk with this guy.

"Jesse" This time the voice was more insistent. She swung her bag over her shoulder and started towards the lift, still ignoring the only man brave enough-or stupid enough- to interrupt her training time.

"not now, Heath" She snarled. Dealing with the colonel was one thing, she couldn't just walk away from him. His upstart son? Now she took great joy in getting away from him. Heath had taken a lot from his father, large shoulders and a strong jaw. But his face was slightly softer, almost humorous; his brown hair was cropped short, and his eyes were a warm brown. Were they not and pandora, and if he was not such a controlling prick, she might have given him a chance. But there was something about him that set off warning sirens. Her instincts were good, it's what made her good at her job, and she trusted them when it came to him. His behavior had only gone on to prove them right, and that wasn't even considering the accident. She shouldered past him, but he caught her elbow in an iron grip.

"Come on, Jess. I just want to talk."

"I don't," she snapped. He had been following her around since he got on base, and it was getting annoying. They were shipped up here together, and the man had been a constant thorn in her side whenever she left the lab. Getting in her way whenever she sparred, switching shifts so they were pared for missions, and most recently trying to pull rank in the lab and get her reassigned. She had a pretty good idea as to why he wasn't leaving her alone.

"Jess-"

"It's Jo." No one called her Jess.

He glared at her, and she glared right back.

"I was just checking on you. I thought you might want to have dinner with me."

"you thought wrong," she said lowly. She glared at him one last time before entering the lift and closing the door. Suddenly calling it an early night didn't sound like such a bad idea.


	2. Chapter 2

I know that the first chapter was really short, and I will probably go back and make changes to it to make it longer. But this chapter is longer, so please let me know what you think. I don't own avatar, only my oc's. I will be switching POV's up here pretty soon to give a better telling about Jo from others perspective.

* * *

Avatar Chapter 2:

It took two days for them to leave on the next assignment. Jake caused quite a commotion when he first linked, which he can't be blamed for. Being in an avatar is a pretty surreal experience, she had spent her first day just running around bare foot on the obstacle course like a kid on a sugar high. He had made it as far as the gardens before the Doc chased him down.

After that is was routine tests and exams to make sure everything was ok in his avatar control before Grace decided it was time to go out.

Trudy dropped them off a couple clicks from the base in a nice little clearing. It made Jo a little nervous to be this close to Na'vi land. It wasn't like they were on speaking terms with the tribe at the moment. Her eyes scanned the surrounding searching for any sign of danger. She had no doubt they were watching, they always were.

She almost laughed when she spotted Jake crouched down playing with some of the plants. At least he wasn't tense. Most new recruits would be whipping around with gun in hand at a gust of wind. He looked simply amazed at the Canalyd plant.

"It's different, right?" She said, more to herself than him.

"I haven't seen this much green… ever." It was true, earth didn't have anything like this anymore. When she was a child, her grandmother had taken her to the Arboretum a few cities over and regaled her of stories of a green earth. Stories her grandmother had told her.

She missed her grandmother, it had been the one person she had regretted leaving on earth. She had almost refused the offer to come to Pandora because she was worried about her. But Isadora Garrison wouldn't here of it.

"You were a ranger, right?" Jakes question pulled her from her thoughts and back to reality. She scowled at his question for a second before nodding. Her past in the military wasn't exactly a secret on base; but that didn't mean she liked divulging much.

"When did you get out?" he asked a little more cautiously this time.

"after a final tour in Venezuela, they shipped me home with an honorable discharge." She left out the specific reasons why she was discharged, he didn't need to know the specifics of her job. Her entire unit had been discharged for the same reason- at least- those who survived.

"What got you sent up here?" she considered his question- debating how much of her past she wanted to divulge. She decided to use the same answer she gave the colonel when he had asked.

"My unit had the highest success rate in the entire army, they always dumped us in a few miles short of the bloodshed and we went to work. I guess they liked what they saw on my file and hunted me down." It wasn't entirely untrue, but she did still have a few things even Grace wasn't allowed to know. Her file had more black ink on it than a shuǐ mò huà.

"Hey!" Grace yelled, "can you two talk war stories later? Get over here." While they had been talking Grace and Norm had moved towards a different grove.

"We can talk more at the base if you want; its hard to find people with the same 'experience' here." She said as they walked. It was true for the most part.

"I thought this base was crawling with military types?" he replied.

"It is, but their… you'll probably get what I'm talking about in a few weeks. Let's just say I have different views than them."

* * *

Jake's POV:

He watched Jo as she knelt beside Dr. Augustine and Norm. Aside from a small briefing before they left, he hadn't really gotten a chance to talk with her. She had been friendly enough- at least friendlier than dr. Augustine- but there was something about her that just didn't sit right. He just got a sense of danger from her.

Max had told him a bit more about her after their meeting in the lab, but the advice had been limited to 'Don't try and take her food' and 'stay on her good side'. The entire department seemed determined to give him half answers about the mysterious woman. No one seemed to comfortable discussing her at length. He had asked about her past as a ranger hoping to broach a conversation- they were both former military after all- but her expression had turned cold as soon as the words past his lips. It was as if a different person had been staring back at him. Bright green eyes that had previously been filled with mirth had been replaced with an almost reptilian like stare. A stare that had set all his warning sirens off.

Her avatar had a much closer resemblance to her human body than seemed possible, with almost neon green eyes instead of yellow and hair the color of red clay. She was also more toned than the other avatars he had seen, but she probably trained more than the scientists did.

"for the hundredth time, I brought the sample bags," she grumbled. She had warned me that Grace would only use us to carry samples. I hadn't believed her at first, but was starting to see the truth in the roots, sap, and soil samples practically spilling out of Jo's back pack.

He considered her words for a second, what did she mean different views? Not for the first time, he found himself wondering about her motivations for being here. He was here because he had no where else to go, he thought that was why everyone on base was there. But he didn't get that feeling from Jo. She had some other reason for journeying to Pandora.

* * *

 _That goddamn idiot_! That sentence kept repeating in her mind a she dove down into the murky water again. The Thanator had shown up and ruined what had actually been an uneventful mission. She had seen it a few seconds before him and just managed to shove him out of the way as those deadly claws came down. The blood had been pounding so loudly in her ears she barely heard Grace's yell to run before taking off into the forest.

 _She doubted she could outrun it, but she could get it away from everyone. That had been her plan until she saw Jake keeping pace with her as they ran. Guns were forgotten as they weaved through the trees and over fallen logs. The best was fast, but the precious time it took trying to navigate around the thicker foliage had given them some distance._

" _There!" she dove into a small shelter beneath some thick roots, Jake following behind her. The only sound was heavy breathing as they tried to catch their breaths._

" _Think we lost it?" Jake huffed._

 _As if to prove him wrong, a set of large claws started tearing away at the roots of their hide._

" _I guess not, Move!" She screamed, shoving him out a hole on the opposite side._

 _They burst out of the hide just as the Thanator tore through the roots._

 _Jo could hear the beast snarling as it gained on them, their avatars would be no match for such a beast. She swore under her breath- which turned into all out cursing when she saw what was in front of them. The God's ladder._

" _Keep going!" she yelled. They didn't have a choice but to jump. She only hoped she remembered the geography of this area right or this would be a long fall and a short stop._

The fall itself hadn't been that bad, but they had been swept down stream into the rapids and separated. It didn't help that Jake had hesitated to jump and had landed in the shallower water. By the time she had made it to shore down river, there was no sign of him. she had seen a glimpse of him in the rapids, but he had been pulled under. Which is why she has been diving in the river to find him, but the murky waters were to obscure.

"Sully? Do you read me?" She snapped into her comm. It was no use; the water had destroyed her one hope of contacting anyone. The sun was going down, and she didn't want to be looking for him in the dark. Just a she was about to give up hope, she spotted a familiar flash of camo on the opposite bank.

"thank Eywa," she praised. _Grace would have killed me anything happened to the avatars._

It didn't take her long to reach the opposing shore as Jake finished hacking up water. She did a quick once over for injuries. Her would have a couple bruises and maybe some scratches, but no life-threatening damage.

"you alright, Sully?" She asked. He nodded weakly before going into another round of coughs.

"You?" He turned towards her and she shrugged.

"a little gash on my leg, but nothing I won't walk off tomorrow." A huge understatement. The cut ran from her knee up to her hip on her left side. She had scrapped her pant legs and sleeves to bind the thing, but even then, it still stung.

"We need to move. Based on the position of the sun, the base should be a click or two west of here. If we follow the river, we should run into it eventually."

"Any hope for a rescue?" she shook her head.

"Not at night, some of the deadlier aerial predators are active at night. The ground ones too. It might be better to try and make camp." If they stayed in one place they ran the risk of discovery by predators-or worse- the Na'vi; but moving would have them stumbling around in the darkness and probably running into more fauna.

"let's set up camp, I don't like the idea of wandering around this place at night."

"Right, camp it is."


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note:

So, to match my timeline I had to change a few things. I am running off the idea that there are two ships in constant circulation between earth and Pandora, making the time between missions only 6 years instead of twelve. The larger ship, it used to transport personnel for the RDA, while the smaller ship is mainly used for resources and a few recruits. The smaller ship is funded by the backers for Grace's Program. Its not canon, but I needed to adjust it for my story. This way Jo arrives on base 6 years before Jake and Norm, because she came on the smaller ship. This idea kind of stemmed from Grace's lab having separate funding aside from the RDA- or before the RDA came along and funded her.

This will be addressed later, but because of the two ships thing it allowed me to make Jo the age I wanted her. In this she is 37 (counting the years lost in cryo), so physically and mentally she is about 30. She will have been on pandora for about 6 years, meaning she was 24 when she went under for transport. I will go later into detail with this later, but I wanted her to be slightly older than Jake and take on a kind of older sister role for him and Norm. There will be a physical description next chapter.

plus, I finally figured out what happened with my formatting. I'm gonna fix the first two chapters soon

 **"Na'vi"**

 _Flashback/thought_

* * *

Chapter 3

Between the two of them setting camp went rather fast. When the adrenaline from the jump had finally wore off it became apparent that Jo hadn't been completely truthful about her injuries. She had worked on building a small shelter using a few fallen branches when one jabbed her cut. It was kind of hard to hide the blood seeping into the bandages in the firelight.

"You're going to need stitches."

"Thank you, captain, obvious," she quipped. It was bad enough they were alone, in the dark, and without supplies. His comments about her injuries weren't necessary.

"just saying, Jes-"

"Finish saying that name and I will throw your blue ass off the waterfall next time."

"Jo," he corrected, "Why do they call you Jo anyway?"

"the Doc," She answered. She was using her hunting knife to carve a spear. I _f anything does find us, I don't want it close enough to use that knife_ , she thought. She tossed him the spear and pulled another branch into her lap and began whittling.

"She was not happy when I walked into the lab the first time. I barely dodged a tablet when she chucked it at me. For the first few weeks she kept calling me G.I Joe- like those old green soldier men- anyway, eventually it became a nickname. I like it much better than my given names."

"Makes sense. I don't think she had called me by name once since I got here."

"Consider yourself lucky, she has more colorful nicknames for the other military types on base." She shuddered at the thought. G.I. Joe wasn't the first name the Doc had used. It had been last in a line of phrases that would have made her drill sergeant blush.

"Can I ask you about something you said earlier?"

"Shoot," she said. She held up the spear to check her work. She hadn't done this since she was a kid. It was something she and her mother did together. They didn't have any trees where she lived so she usually ended up using old chair legs and stuff like that. Imitation wood was easier to carve away than actual wood; it was also flimsier.

"You said you were an honorable discharge, why?" He hadn't seen anything that made an honorable discharge make sense so far. She seemed to be perfectly capable in his eyes. but then again, looks could be deceiving.

"I was patrolling around in a zone that we had cleared a few weeks prior, when I set off a hidden mine. Blew my left leg below the knee clean off and I got scarring all the way up to my neck on my left." she glared into the fire, not willing to tell him the complete truth. It was years ago, but some days the wounds still felt fresh.

"I was wearing a baggy pair of cargos when we meet so you probably didn't see my leg," she said simply, "Anyway, I was shipped home, then air mailed up here."

"I'm amazed you survived that."

"so were the medics. I was just happy I could still use my left arm," she brought her hands up in a mock fighting stance, "I'm a lefty."

Jake smirked and prodded the fire.

"How far away from base do you think we are?"

"Hard to tell, maybe a day to two. This river feeds directly into our wells, so if we follow it West we should get home."

"Grace won't pull us both out until we get the avatars to a safe place." The Doc was more likely to chew off her own arm then pull them out.

"I'm going to go look for some more firewood." She got up and started walking towards the river. She'd seen a few fallen trees on the shore earlier. Leaving Jake alone at camp probably wasn't the best idea, but she needed some time to think. She wasn't going that far.

* * *

 _She dreamed of blood, raining down from an ash colored sky. It was all she ever knew, blood and battle. The sound of her prey fighting to stay alive- she envied them their death. They would at least be able to rest. It wasn't as if life had been fair the any of them, forced to fight a war for people to scared and selfish to compromise. They had ignored the signs of exhaustion from their planet until it was to late. Acidic water now ran in once clean rivers; forests of concrete replaced tall leafy trees; and scars ran across the land where iron and oil were forced from the earth. The planet had died long ago, yet no one had listened._

 _She once believed that they were fighting for the right cause, they all had. She once had people she wanted to protect, at least until a peace was reached._

 _What a lie!_

 _They never wanted peace, they wanted more; more oil, more metal, more water. It was never enough. By the time they had realized the costs of their own actions it was too late. Her unit was gone, forced apart by trauma and anger._

 _And her she was, the once celebrated legacy, almost drowning in her cups. The liquid burned her throat, but it was one of the only things reminding her she was alive. She saw their faces where ever she went, faces she had justified destroying. She didn't want to be numb anymore, but nothing helped. Her medication only put her in a false sense of euphoria and wore off leaving her in a worse state than when she started. If it meant finding peace, she would have laid down and never got up long ago._

 _But her damned pride wouldn't allow it. It would not serve justice for her to roll over to her nightmares; her grandmother would never forgive such selfishness._

" _if you want to be alone, fine. You don't need anyone else, then that's alright; but there are people who need you. Whether your willing to see it or not is on you, but they will still be there. Growing up is forcing the world to help, not you, but them." Isadora Garrison had said those words to a young Jo one summer. Her grandmother was filled with that kind of advice. Helping people wasn't an option to her, it was expected and something she didn't mind. Until they betrayed her._

 _She shot back another drink and scowled. Her prosthetic was wearing out again. She hadn't expected from such a cheap model, but she had hoped it would at least last for another few years. She couldn't afford another one until she got a better job. Cleaning out vents and air ducts didn't exactly pay well._

" _Specialist Garrison?" she turned with a scowl still on her face. She didn't even need to take to this guy to know he was trouble. His black suit was clean, glasses free of smudges, and hair slicked back with some form of goo. This guy didn't belong in the seedy bar she had chosen to spend the night in._

" _Who's asking?" she snapped. The asshole chuckled._

" _I'm Peter Simmons. I have an employer who is interested in you." He smirked. She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him as he handed her a card._

" _My company owns a small research operation on Pandora, you know it?" of course, everyone knew about Pandora. She had kept posters of it on her bedroom walls when she was little. The place seemed like a fairy tale compared to here._

" _Well, we are recruiting persona with your…" he paused, "skill set. It is my understanding you have quite the record of military service."_

" _how the hell did you get access to that?" she growled. There was a reason they had blacked out her file. She was almost positive all members of her unit were still under surveillance, the ones that were alive anyway. Considering how they left service it was a surprise they hadn't locked her up yet._

" _like I said, you interest us." He signaled the bar tender and two more shots appeared between the two._

" _I know quite a bit about you miss Garrison; like how you actually lost that leg." The glass she had been drinking from made loud clank as she slammed it down, her green eyes narrowing dangerously. But Simmons didn't take the hint._

 _"What if I told you that I have some work for you?"_

" _I would say no, I'm not looking to fight another war."_

" _and I don't expect you too. My people have raised some concerns about other personnel, I want you to act as a protection detail." Now she was curious, a job like protection tended to turn pretty quickly depending on who was in charge._

" _Why?" she asked. He smiled again but it didn't reach his eyes._

" _because we need the best of the best in order for this to be successful; I am just trying to ensure my clients interests."_

* * *

She jumped slightly when she heard the laughing. It was feint, but surviving on Pandora meant recognizing even the smallest of sounds. The laughing that sounded like nails against a chalkboard. She stood up slowly, glancing at the surrounding brush.

 _Viper Wolves_

She saw Jake's shoulders tense as he heard the sound too. He was sitting across the fire from her, and that's were she saw them.

"Sully," she said calming, pointing off into the woods behind him where sets of black eyes reflected the firelight. She moved slowly over to where he was sitting.

"I see them," he said as he reached for his own weapon. They had surrounded the camp. There was at least a dozen of the beasts. Small and agile predators that swarmed their prey before tearing it to shreds.

"Don't make any sudden moves or they'll strike."

"What's the plant then? We are sitting ducks." He whispered.

"I'm thinking," she hissed.

"Think faster, I don't think they are going to wait out there for long."

Jo tried to remember all the things Grace had said about these guys. She had made it a point to get Jo up to speed on the predators and deadly plants. Something Jo was endlessly thankful for. Becoming familiar with pandora was the first thing she did after coming out of cryo. She didn't know as much as the scientists; just enough to know what to do in situations like this. The worst-case scenarios.

"They can't swim, and can't climb. When I give the word, run for the river." The river still had a strong current that would carry him for a while.

"Follow the river back to base."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna pull rank here Sully, just do it." She said lowly, her eyes never leaving the bushes.

Jake looked about to protest, but nodded instead. Separating while they were surrounded probably wasn't the best idea, but there was no way they could take on a full pack of these things. If by some miracle they both made it to the river, then the beasts would just try and follow them down river. But if she gave them something else to hunt, then Jake could escape. between the two of them, she had a better chance of surviving in the woods, even if the chances were slight.

"I'll see you back on base, Jo" he said. She nodded.

"ready?" she whispered. Her hands tightened around her makeshift spears, and she saw their hackles rising.

"Go!"

* * *

This had to be one of the most annoying research missions she had ever been on. Seven years she had been running missions; seven years with only one incident. They flew out, picked up a few sticks, and flew back. She had seen more of Pandora's wildlife in the last 24 hours than in six years.

So, here she was, slogging around in a forest lite up in bioluminescence with a bleeding leg, a torn-up forearm from an over eager Viper wolf and no clue as to her next move. She must have been absent when they covered 'what to do when stranded in the wild on an alien planet' in basic.

If she didn't die from blood loss, then the doc would definitely kill her. Avatars weren't exactly cheap. Plus, death wasn't exactly something she wanted to experience. The only bright side to all this was that she managed to kill a few more hours. The nights on Pandora weren't that short, and staying awake for this long was proving difficult.

She kept her eyes moving around, searching to anything out of place. It wasn't as if things could get

Any wor-

THWACK

"-se" she growled. Another arrow followed along the same path of the previous, tearing into a tree a few centimeters from her neck. She dove behind a tree as more arrows kept coming.

" **Don't let it escape!** " She heard one of them yell. She would have to thank the Doc for making her learn basic Na'vi.

She could here them moving from behind her tree, their stealthy moves not quiet enough to escape her trained ears.

She started scaling the tree, using some smaller branches and cracks in the bark to silently make her ascent. It was obvious that there was more than one, No one Na'vi could fire that many arrows at once. That voice was bothering her though, she recognized it from somewhere. She didn't have time for that now.

Safely concealed behind the leaves, she watched as they crept towards her tree. There were five of them, two with bows drawn and two more with spears.

The fifth was atop a dire horse, snapping orders at the others. He was either an asshole of the one in charge- probably both. He was directly below her perch as his men continued towards the tree.

She weighed her options. She could try to fight, but five on one wasn't exactly good odds. If she ran for it she would need to get out of bow shot, the Na'vi had little problem shooting in the dark. They had missed her twice now, she doubted there would be a third time. She might try taking the leader hostage, but that raised the question of what she would do with him when she got safe enough away- if he didn't kill her first.

So that left waiting. So now she was bleeding, hungry, tired and stuck in a tree while a group of less than happy natives waited to kill her; sometime she missed the simpler times.

Noe resigned to sitting in the branches for the night, her mind traveled back to that voice. She tried to get a better look at the one on the horse. Maybe seeing the face would help jog her memory.

" **She is gone!"** One of them called. Well, she wasn't 'gone' gone; maybe just not in that exact spot.

" **That is impossible, keep looking."** In the future she could see herself laughing at this incident. If she survived. Turns out the best way to escape the Na'vi was to simply climb a tree in the dark.

" **could she have gone into the trees?" S** ome of them started to look towards the trees, an she stayed impossibly still. She could tell they were young, they were smaller than the Na'vi she remembered and not as cautious as they should be in the darkness.

There where days when she cursed her avatar body. While the Na'vi were typically lithe, avatars tended to have more muscle mass throughout their bodies. Their muscles structure took more from their human DNA. By the time they were developed they had to retrain the muscles to do certain movements, say climbing for example. It's why the obstacle courses were built. Their were a handful of other differences, but they were small. A few things that turned out slightly too human to ever be considered Na'vi.

" **Ha!"** one of them laughed, **"the day a sky person manages to climb this- will be the day I become Toruk Makto."** If she weren't thankful for their short-sightedness, she might be a little insulted.

" **Tsu'tey!"** she could barely hear the hoof-beats of an approaching dire horse as the name registered. She knew he had sounded familiar. _I guess that answers that question_ , she thought. She peered between the leaves as two more dire horses approached.

He had changed a lot since she last saw him. But then again, she hadn't seen him for years. Her was taller, probably only a few inches taller than her, and carried an air of authority. The only thing that she recognized instantly was the scowl forever locked in place on his face.

" **It's Neytiri, she returns- with a prisoner!"** Jo winced; it had to be Jake. Their luck just wasn't there tonight.

At least he was a prisoner, which meant he was alive.

The Na'vi who had previously been searching for her returned to Tsu'tey and shook their head.

" **We found a few drops of blood, but it's too dark to find a trail. Where ever she went she is injured,"** one of them reported. She cursed internally, had it been day they might spot a trail leading up the tree.

" **Neytiri probably got her,"** one of them reasoned. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head as Tsu'tey contemplated leaving.

 _just go!_ She hissed internally. She almost sighed in relief when something she didn't understand was snapped and they started to leave. She needed to get to a safe place and get a message to Grace.

"I'm getting sick of saving him," she whispered.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At Hell's Gate…

Word had spread around base of the two missing avatars. Max and Grace were taking shifts watching the link beds for any sign of their return, but they were worried. Grace had not been able to sleep a wink, worried for both the avatars and their drivers. Pandora was hostile in the day time, but night was an entirely different beast. Any manner of creature could kill those two if they didn't see it coming.

Max was more worried for Jo than he was for Jake. Logically he knew that she was perfectly capable of surviving on her own, but he still worried. She was a good friend and a good lab assistant, no matter what Grace said. She had a curiosity about her that had endeared her to him. She would happily go out on expeditions as long as she got to stay with Max and help afterwards. Even if that help was only washing beakers and slides in the lab. It had taken some time for him to get used to her presence. After the first few months, he no longer jumped whenever she decided to speak. Most of the time she could sit in the room for hours-just watching everyone-until she heard something that interested her.

The topics ranged. Sometimes it was as normal as a question about the samples, and sometimes it was questions about procedure. It happened all across the department too. Some times she was in the botany labs, the medical wing, the hangers, or the avatar labs. The only place on base that she seemed to actively avoid was the control room. But that wasn't unusual; most people avoided the control room.

A lot of people had come from around the base to check on the two while they were in link, but none of them stayed for very long. It was frustrating to just sit and wait for something to happen. Trudy had been the most recent guest, but she had left for a guard shift in the hanger about an hour ago. Norm had also stopped by, but his incessant passing had gotten old fast, and he was told to rest.

Quartich had even visited for a few minutes, but only to offer to lead a recovery party at first light. At this point most people outside of the program already thought that Jo and Jake were dead. Those people were idiots. If anything had happened to the avatar they would have returned to their bodies; that was how the link worked. They were alive…for now. Max only hoped they stayed that way.

Grace busied herself by checking their biometrics ever three seconds. She couldn't panic, but her nerves were showing. She had flown out with Trudy until the sun had set, but there was no sign of them.

She had jumped out of the Sampson and made a beeline for the link room, only relived when she found out they were still in link. Since then she could only pry herself away to get either coffee for her and max. It was driving her crazy to be this useless.

Suddenly the room filled with a familiar beep and she ran towards the link bed.

"It's Jake, he is coming out!" Max called out happily. He called Norm into the lab before making his way over to Jake. The bed opened slowly, but it was obvious he was still out of it.

"Get me a flashlight," Grace snapped to a poor assistant that was moving just a little too slow. The poor man almost tore off his lab coat pocket trying to get the small light out.

"Come one, come one," She said as she waved the flashlight over his eyes. Norm burst into the lab and over to them, panting heavily from sprinting there.

"Jake…Jake!" Grace shouted a little more insistently. The entire room breathed a sigh of relieve when his eyes finally dilated and he waved the light away.

"Thank god," Max breathed.

"What happened?" Norm asked. Jake just sat up and shook his head, probably trying to readjust to his human body. It was hard to be in the avatars-with their superior senses- for long periods of time and then return to human bodies. Normal side effects included disorientation, dizziness or hallucinations in some cases. All of the symptoms faded with time, they were just a part of the process.

Grace steadied him as he tried to keep his upper half upright.

"I don't know, some small black things were chasing me and me and Jo got separated," he said. Grace cursed; she still had one driver stranded out in the Pandoran forest. with what sounded like Viper-wolves after her. Which caused her face to pale as another thought entered her mind.

"is your avatar okay?" she tried to sound calm, but the question came out forced. It was obvious he was exhausted, but they needed answers. Jake slumped again and she propped him up.

"it's fine, I'm fine," he reiterated. He laughed weakly before staring her in the eye, "But your never gonna believe where I'm at!"

* * *

Two more days passed before a team of patrolling AMP's found Jo. She had stumbled into them on accident, but had collapsed in relief when she found them. They traveled back to base and were meet by Grace in her human body in the hanger. Jo had collapsed in front of her, babbling about Jake and the Na'vi. Only stopping when she finally collapsed from blood loss and exhaustion. She didn't even wake when they pulled her from the link bed and was taken to the med bay. No one had ever stayed in link for so long and they wanted to make sure there were no side effects. She had been comatose for about a week before finally recovering. The exhaustion of staying in link and awake for three days was catching up with her.

Her avatar wasn't in a much better state. They were lucky they had found her when they did, or it was likely they would have lost the avatar. None of the injuries would leave any lasting damage aside from a scare. But the clumsy first aid had only barely helped. They had put it back in the healing tanks, and she was almost fully healed when Jo woke up.

That had been an entire other story. While she had been in recovery, Jake had filled in Grace on their little 'mishap' which meant she was furious by the time Jo was conscious.

"I still can't believe you told her," she hissed. She had joined Jake for breakfast before his second week with the Na'vi. That is if the 'food' the cook served didn't kill him first.

"What was I supposed to say?"

"Oh, I don't know; something other than 'we jumped from a waterfall and she let a pack of viper wolves hunt her'!" she finished furiously. There were more delicate ways to describe it, ways that wouldn't have put her in Grace's line of fire. She had been stuck in the med bay too, so there was no chance of escape when Grace found her. Bending the truth a little to make it sound a little less reckless would have helped.

"It wasn't that bad."

"No! It gets worse, before that you told the Na'vi that I was around their jungle, and now I'm on their list too." A drastic understatement. She didn't know how he managed to talk them down, but he had managed to let it slip he wasn't the only driver running around. She knew it was an accident, but still. That little statement only added fuel to the fire. He had been worried when Tsu'tey mentioned shooting another avatar, and had said her name. The Na'vi did not like the idea of sky people being so close to their lands unsupervised.

So, an agreement was made between Grace and Eykutan through Jake. Jake would stay with the people, while Jo and Grace were allowed to come and check on his avatar at least once every few weeks. He would walk to the edge of Na'vi land and they would give him a once over before sending him back. Neytiri would come with him of course, she was charged with learning about the warrior avatars after all.

But the worst part, was that having lost an avatar driver in the forest had landed Tsu'tey and the rest of the hunting party in trouble. The hunters had gone back to that spot and spotted the blood trail into the trees, which lead to a loud argument- or so Jake said. The young hunters were punished, but Eyukutan was impressed and wanted to meet the warrior who outsmarted his men. He had lifted the ban on humans at Hometree recently for Jake, but that didn't mean he was sending out invitations. But for some reason, he wanted to meet her, which meant Jo was now forced to go to Hometree on a peace mission-a place she had tried her hardest to avoid.

The tribe wasn't exactly the problem, but going meant she risked getting recognized. Jo had a few run ins with Na'vi over the years, not all of them ending peacefully- and the last thing she wanted was to dredge up memories for the tribe. They only knew her by the name that had been on her patch when she went with Grace at the school, J.H. Garrison. They didn't know her as Jo, but they would recognize her as soon as she stepped food in Hometree. Her avatar had a few issues that Jake's and Norm's didn't, the earlier avatars tended to have a few genetic mutations that were worked out in newer ones. Her avatar was no exception. Rather than the trademark yellow, her avatar had almost neon green eyes, and the queue was too long. It went down to her knees; she had to keep it attached to her belt so it didn't get caught in the low hanging branches. Another thing was her coloring. She had the same skin color as the natives, but her hair took a little more towards her human side. There were a few strands of red mixed in that had come out of nowhere. Her human body had taken heavily from her mother- light brown curly hair that was always full of knots, tan skin covered in freckles, and green eyes. she didn't know where the red had come from, but it was there. It gave her hair a kind of bronze sheen, not something she appreciated when she was hiding and the light hit it.

All this-plus the beaded bands she wore on her forearms- made her easily distinguishable. The bands had been a gift from some kids at the school, she never had the heart to take them off after the incident. With or without them-there would be no difference. Her only saving grace was that the hunting parties were supposed to be out when she showed up, it wasn't much of a conciliation- but she would take it. Most of the people who could recognize her were hunters- or they were when she knew them.

"I still don't get why your so against going to Hometree?" Jake took another bite of his food as he asked her. She still didn't understand how he stomached some of the stuff they served in the mess hall. She usually stuck with some of the stuff they grew on base and a protein ration. She wasn't a scientist- but something told her that the oatmeal was not to be trifled with. It had growled at her once.

"it's not that I'm against Hometree, per say. I am just not the tribe's favorite person." The first part was a blatant lie, the second was probably true. She hadn't talked to the Na'vi in about a year, but the only person that knew she had any contact with the them recently was max. After that accident, Grace had almost sent her home before she could fully explain what had happened. It was only Max vouching for her that kept her in the program.

He shrugged at her answer and went back to eating.

"your going to tell me why someday, along with why your avatar has those scars on her back?" he was of course referring to the long ones that slashed across her back. He had seen them when her avatar was still healing. Her avatar was probably about 20% scar tissue at this point. She had some on her torso, her legs, one that looked suspiciously like teeth marks in her shoulder; they were everywhere. He didn't ask about the ones on her wrists, those had concerned him, but that wasn't a topic you brought up with someone you just met over breakfast. Her avatar had many other smaller scars, but those specific ones had caught his attention.

"We will see about that?" she answered smugly. They continued on to have a pretty pleasant conversation. He told her about any new developments back on earth- there weren't many. The only thing she really paid attention too was when he said the price for alcohol production went up and had shut down her favorite brand of beer. He swore he saw a tear in her eye when he told her.

She told him about some hidden spots on base. Places she liked to hide from Grace that no one on base really went near. There were quite a few places to just disappear too. Places the cameras didn't see, or that he didn't let them see.

"The best place to go is the Ghost Hanger."

"Ghost hanger?"

"the oldest building, it's kind of abandoned now. Used to work as a mechanic shop for the AMP's and Sampsons. People call it the Ghost Hanger because it's so run down compared to the rest of the base."

"You sure know a lot of hiding places."

"I don't like many people, rook. I actively hate most of the population here." It was a mutual feeling for the most part. She had taught some of the men stationed here to respect her when they tried to haze her. Some of those bastards spent weeks in the med bay, the lucky ones at least.

"There you are!" she scowled as Norm and grace found them. She liked Norm, honestly; but the man had interrupted her breakfast a few times before. No one interrupted her meals.

"what are you doing?" Grace snapped. Still a little tired, Jo didn't even hesitate in her response.

"discussing quantum theory," she said dryly. Graces glare only caused her to shrug and sip her coffee. Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer.

"It's time to go. Jo go get Trudy and link up. We will meet Jake and Neytiri on the edge of Na'vi land." _Well, looks like breakfast is over._

* * *

Maybe if she timed it right she could get Trudy to take her back to the base. Grace could tell them she got sick… or something more believable. She had never met Eyukutan, and now he invited her to Hometree. Eyukutan was a good leader, he wouldn't invite a wolf into the sheep's den. She didn't need to meet the male to know that. If she were to bet, she would say that Mo'at was somehow involved. She had heard the Tsahik was a dangerous female and she had been the one who wanted to observe Jake. The few Na'vi she had meet were from the school and the guards who came with them. They told her about their leaders and the kind of people they were.

She was sure she didn't want to meet them, but this wasn't something she had a choice in.

"Just stay quite and let me do the talking," Grace said.

"No problem, Doc," she huffed. If she could get through this without talking she would. She understood basic Na'vi, but her speech was rusty at best. The only things she knew she could say with absolute certainty was 'I see you' and 'my Na'vi is not good'. Both of which might help her in this situation.

"There they are," Grace said. Sure enough, Jake came out of the trees-tailed by Neytiri. If the situation weren't so serious, Jo would be rolling on the forest floor laughing. _What is he wearing?_ She cackled internally.

"Nice outfit there, rook," she managed to say it without laughing, but barely. Jake scowled and shifted on the balls of his feet. He hadn't been happy when they had taken his clothes, walking around in just a leather jock strap was weird to say the least. He never had taken his clothes for granted until he lost them. But before he could reply, Neytiri stepped in.

"I see you, Karyu Grace, and where is-" she froze when her eyes landed on Jo. Who could only smirk and wave awkwardly.

"I see you, Neytiri," she said, trying to sound friendly. Her yellow eyes narrowed and her grip on her bow tightened. Jo tried not to take it personally that the weapon was drawn.

"Jaych? I am supposed to be bringing someone named 'Jo'" she said annoyed.

"that is what my people call me," she answered quickly. It didn't look like Neytiri was any happier about this arrangement then the rest of them.

"Fine, follow." She turned around swiftly and walked off, not bothering to check if they were actually following. She almost felt bad about Neytiri dismissing her, but she couldn't blame her. this was why she didn't want to go to Hometree, she didn't want to see those looks of hatred from people she once thought of as friends.

"Jaych?" Jake whispered as they walked. He fell in step with her while Grace walked ahead, just behind Neytiri. Grace was stiff as a stone, it showed in her shoulders. Jo couldn't blame her. She probably saw this as a chance to earn the tribe's forgiveness.

"I met my first Na'vi at the school. The kids saw my dad's initials, J.H., on my dog tags and just went with it." She liked to wear her dad's dog tags wherever she went. Grace had given her a chain to put them on when she was an avatar so she could wear them. she wore her own set of tags when she was human.

"You never corrected them?"

"They were so happy at being able to read it, I didn't have the heart to tell them. My dad and I have the same initials so it didn't bother me that much." She thought it was kind of cute. The kids were smiling from ear to ear when they said it for the first time. Grace played along because she thought it was funny.

"How many names do you have?" he asked incredulously.

"Too many," she answered straight-faced.

* * *

They arrived at Hometree quicker than she would have liked. The Na'vi parted for their little party as they passed, some reaching out to touch her before retreating.

She didn't see any children, they were probably somewhere else for this little visit. That was probably for the best. She also didn't see any hunters, but she did spot a few sentries on their walk in. It seemed the entire clan had come out to great them. _no pressure_ , she thought. She didn't know if the Na'vi had been told about her, but they knew Grace, which means they had heard of Grace's guard.

They were brought before a large helix like structure running up farther than she could see. At the base stood two Na'vi, undoubtedly Eykutan and Mo'at. Jake and Neytiri moved off to the side, leaving her and Grace to their scrutinizing eyes.

"I see you Eyukutan, Olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya. I see you Mo'at, Tsahik of the Omaticaya." Jo bowed slightly, following Grace's lead. As long as they wrapped things up before Tsu'tey and his hunting party came back, she would be in the clear.

" **Karyu Grace,"** he nodded in her direction, **"and you must be warrior Jo."** Jo swallowed a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding before nodding.

" **My warriors don't lose their prey that often, it was shocking to hear that they did not manage to track you. How did you manage to escape? Based on the blood trail we found, you must have been injured."** She glanced nervously towards Grace before answering.

" **Forgive me, Olo'eyktan. My na'vi is not good. I was a ranger on my world- a hunter. I used the darkness to my advantage to hide in the foliage of a tree. Were it day, they would have without a doubt found me."** Had it been day they wouldn't have missed her the first time. For the first time she was thankful she had gotten lost during the night in the one part of the jungle that didn't light up at night.

" **yes, I agree. but that does not explain your injuries."** He said hardly.

" **I jumped from the cliffs to escape a…"** she didn't know the word in na'vi "…Thanator. **My leg got hurt, when we realized where we were a pack of nantang attacked us. I tried to lure them away so that Jake could make it back to base."** She really needed to take a refresher course on Na'vi after this. Maybe Max could help her study.

Eykutan considered her for a minute before asking Neytiri something. Jo couldn't understand what they were saying, but the frown on Neytiri's face was not a good sign.

"Come here." Mo'at rose from her seat and beckoned her forward. Reluctantly, Jo walked towards her; noting that most of the Na'vi were reaching for their weapons. _Not good_ , she thought. She made her way to Mo'at slowly, purposefully trying to seem as harmless as possible. A hard thing to do in a ten-foot body.

She stopped a few feet away when Mo'at grabbed her jaw and yanked her closer. She didn't make a single move as the older female, held her face captive in an iron grip. Her other hand traced circles around her eyes, the digits dragging along her lower lashes and back.

"Your eyes see the truth," she said. Jo had no idea what she meant, but as long as the female was happy she didn't mind being in the dark. Jo regained her senses when she recognized that Mo'at had just spoken English. She supposed she should have seen that coming. Both Sylwanin and Neytiri probably brought any lessons Grace taught them back to their mother.

" **But there is a darkness in your eyes. A cold fury that risks consuming you."** Jo paled at her words. _What did she mean? What fury?_

Mo'at released her and Jo retreated back towards Grace. The two leaders exchanged words and Jo gulped nervously. She did not like being in such a helpless situation. When she went into battle, or even just out of research trips- she knew how to handle the situation. It was survival, something she knew. But this was something far deadlier than any weapons, this was politics - something she never wanted anything to do with.

Grace stayed silent through their whole exchange. Which did nothing to make Jo any more at ease.

The three kept speaking for what felt like hours. Mo'at and Eykutan glancing towards them occasionally before returning their eyes to Neytiri. The three were obviously debating something, and based on the nervous look in graces eyes; it was nothing good. Jake looked just as lost from his place beside Neytiri, but he tried to smile reassuringly. Jo doubted he would be lucky enough to negotiate with them again.

"what are they saying?" Jo whispered. She tried to be quiet, but every na'vi eye snapped towards her. Mo'at straightened up and walked towards them.

"I wish to speak with you privately, you will answer all my questions." Her tone didn't leave any room for argument. Jo followed Mo'at up the helix, catching a glimpse of Jake talking to Jake before she couldn't see them anymore.

* * *

"relax child, I won't hurt you." _Debatable_ , _extremely debatable_ , Jo thought. Mo'at had her sitting in a small hut amongst the leaves. As far as she could tell they were alone. But that bit of knowledge did not help her nerves. Every instinct in her body said to get away from this female; a notion she wished she could follow.

"I simply have a few questions. We can speak in your language for ease. We had assumed that JakeSully was the only warrior dream-walker, yet another one was with us all along. My mate is mad our daughter never mentioned it."

"Neytiri did not know," she never brought her weapons with her to the school, Grace forbade it. Her hand to hand experience had Most days she was a teaching assistant, or a jungle gym for the younger Na'vi. They were like human toddlers- just larger and blue. She would sometimes bring stuff from the base for them to play with- all of course pre-approved by Grace.

"My mate didn't want to meet you, but I changed his mind."

Before she could help herself, she spoke, "Why?"

"Because I was curious. Never has a dream-walker escaped from the Na'vi without the use of their weapons. Now not just one, but two travel near our border. One bears the sign of Eywa, and the other manages to vanish into the night like a Na'vi. This one having been hiding under the noses of the clan. What does this sound like to you?"

"A coincidence," she insisted. Mo'at laughed. Jo sighed, she believed in Eywa. She retained that there were some things science couldn't explain, the people's connection to the forest falling in that category.

"There are no coincidences. I was curious about this other warrior, so I asked for a meeting. But it wasn't Neytiri that caused me to want to speak with you."

"Really? Do tell," she said sarcastically. Mo'at raised a hairless brow and Jo shrunk. She reminded Jo of her mother.

"Tsu'tey came to me saying that Eywa led them to an invader, and they failed to capture it. but I believe, that they were only supposed to lead you here." Jo wasn't following this, _so the spirit led one of the deadliest hunters and a young hunting party to me in hopes they wouldn't kill me?_ _Thanks for taking that gamble, Eywa._

"Then I got to see your eyes, I don't see the hunger in your eyes I have seen before in your kind"

"Thank you?" Jo replied. There really wasn't a response to that. It sounded like a compliment within an insult.

"but I do see a greater purpose," She snapped. She emphasized the point with a stab to Jo's sternum with the bone she wore around her neck.

"you said that earlier," Jo grumbled. The crazy female licked the blood from the bone and smirked at her. An unsettling sight to say the least.

"I have decided, come." She grabbed Jo's forearm and dragged the poor clueless ranger back down the tree. _Decided what, Baba-yaga?_ She screamed internally.

* * *

Even years later, she would never be able to tell exactly what happened when she descended the tree with Mo'at. One second she was shoved towards Grace, the next a shouting match started between the two rulers- she recognized the word Eywa being thrown around. But they were talking to fast for her to get the rest.

Then someone had latched onto her forearm, she only reacted. Yanking her arm away and backing up as a slashed the air where she had been. She didn't think, simply watched as the blade slashed at her once again, but she was ready this time. As the blade wielding Na'vi thrust the blade, she caught his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. She heard a rush of air leave his lungs as his back hit the ground, but she didn't let up. She dove towards the knife that had fallen from his hands. Turning on her toes as a he tried to take back the knife. With his back exposed, she kicked out his knees and place the tip of the blade at his jugular. From here, it was only one quick sli-

"Jo!" Grace yelled. Her eyes snapped up as the two rulers watched the spectacle. Mo'at smirked and turned to her mate, a look of triumph in her eyes.

"Release him," Mo'at said, gesturing to the young hunter eyeing her vigilantly. She dropped the blade and backed up. It was only when he stood that she got a good look at him, and her blood drained from her face. _The hunter from the forest…but if he is back,_ sure enough, the hunting party had returned; with a familiar scowling face. Tsu'tey walked straight up to Neytiri and Eyukutan, apparently arriving after their little skirmish. He glared at her for a full second before recognition set in.

" **Uniltìranyu!"** hissed. Ears lying flat against the sides of his head. Suddenly she wished she had kept that knife. If looks could kill, she would be long dead.

" **Why are you here?"** he demanded.

" **Why does everyone keep asking that? You're the ones that called me here."** She said in exasperation. She looked to Mo'at for help, hoping their conversation had sparked some sort of kinship- but the witch had the gaul to giggle. _A little help here!_ If someone didn't step in soon than the Na'vi would be short a future leader. She had beaten him every time she sparred in the past, she just hoped his arrogance had stunted his ability with hand-to-hand combat.

"Enough!" Eyukutan shouted. The na'vi were fell silent, even Tsu'tey-who was still glaring daggers at her.

" **You may leave, Karyu Grace, we have seen enough."** Eyukutan snapped. Jo bowed again and sighed. That had gone better than anticipated. She had met the leaders, received cryptic advice, and managed not to get herself killed- not the worst meeting she has ever had.

Both Grace and Jo moved to leave, when Jo was stopped by Mo'at's voice.

" **Only Karyu Grace may leave."**

This lady can't be serious. Jo looked between Grace and Jake who were both a little stunned at this turn of events. They had probably assumed-like Jo had- that this meeting was over. The Tsahik was determined though, and the Olo'eykutan- while blatantly against this decision-wasn't getting in her way.

"I wish to study this one further, perhaps there Is hope for your people yet?"

 _Excuse, me?_

"Syrtri," she gestured to the young hunter who had attacked her, "shall be her teacher."

 _EXCUSE, ME?_

" **Sa'nok, I don't think it wise to leave her with such a young hunter"** Neytiri chimed in. She had a glint in her eye, and Jo didn't like it. She had that same look in her eye whenever a brawl was starting on base and she had a good seat to watch.

" **I agree, she could have killed him just now. Pick someone else."** Eyukutan might just be her best bet of escaping this thing. Of all the times for a married couple to fight, now would be it.

" **Fine, then how about Tsu'tey? It would do him good as future leader to learn of the sky people."**

 _That traitorous witch!_

Eyukutan seemed completely oblivious to Tsu'tey's growing anger at this idea, and nodded.

"Hold on, now. We had an agreement." Grace tried to sound calm, but she was out of her element. Grace planned for every discrepancy, but no one could plan for this. They already had one driver, why do they want another?

"Agreements change." Mo'at said. Then she just up and walked away.

Were Jo an irrational person, she would be getting angry, perhaps yelling about how unfair this was, maybe even yelling to a friend about it-but Tsu'tey was already doing that quite nicely, and one of them needed to be rational about this. It appeared that the Tsahik had made her decision, and nothing could be done about it. Contesting it wasn't going to solve anything.

"Grace, Just go." We can talk about it more when I come out of link tonight" she said calmly. Grace looked ready to argue, but stormed off instead. Jo couldn't blame the woman for being angry. She had been trying to get back with the clan for two years. Then a military man on his second day gets lost in the woods and is chosen, and to add salt to the wound her body guard was then chosen. The Na'vi had selected the only two drivers on the entire base with a military background.

"Didn't see that one coming," Jake said behind her.

"Me either."


End file.
